Harmonization of Human Biomonitoring Studies in Europe: Characteristics of the HBM4EU-Aligned Studies Participants

Abstract

Human biomonitoring has become a pivotal tool for supporting chemicals’ policies. It provides information on real-life human exposures and is increasingly used to prioritize chemicals of health concern and to evaluate the success of chemical policies. Europe has launched the ambitious REACH program in 2007 to improve the protection of human health and the environment. In October 2020 the EU commission published its new chemicals strategy for sustainability towards a toxic-free environment. The European Parliament called upon the commission to collect human biomonitoring data to support chemical’s risk assessment and risk management. This manuscript describes the organization of the first HBM4EU-aligned studies that obtain comparable human biomonitoring (HBM) data of European citizens to monitor their internal exposure to environmental chemicals. The HBM4EU-aligned studies build on existing HBM capacity in Europe by aligning national or regional HBM studies. The HBM4EU-aligned studies focus on three age groups: children, teenagers, and adults. The participants are recruited between 2014 and 2021 in 11 to 12 primary sampling units that are geographically distributed across Europe. Urine samples are collected in all age groups, and blood samples are collected in children and teenagers. Auxiliary information on socio-demographics, lifestyle, health status, environment, and diet is collected using questionnaires. In total, biological samples from 3137 children aged 6–12 years are collected for the analysis of biomarkers for phthalates, HEXAMOLL® DINCH, and flame retardants. Samples from 2950 teenagers aged 12–18 years are collected for the analysis of biomarkers for phthalates, Hexamoll® DINCH, and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), and samples from 3522 adults aged 20–39 years are collected for the analysis of cadmium, bisphenols, and metabolites of polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The children’s group consists of 50.4% boys and 49.5% girls, of which 44.1% live in cities, 29.0% live in towns/suburbs, and 26.8% live in rural areas. The teenagers’ group includes 50.6% girls and 49.4% boys, with 37.7% of residents in cities, 31.2% in towns/suburbs, and 30.2% in rural areas. The adult group consists of 52.6% women and 47.4% men, 71.9% live in cities, 14.2% in towns/suburbs, and only 13.4% live in rural areas. The study population approaches the characteristics of the general European population based on age-matched EUROSTAT EU-28, 2017 data; however, individuals who obtained no to lower educational level (ISCED 0–2) are underrepresented. The data on internal human exposure to priority chemicals from this unique cohort will provide a baseline for Europe’s strategy towards a non-toxic environment and challenges and recommendations to improve the sampling frame for future EU-wide HBM surveys are discussed.

PFAS levels and determinants of variability in exposure in European teenagers – Results from the HBM4EU aligned studies (2014–2021)

“…The aim of this initiative was to harmonise human biomonitoring in Europe to support policy making ( Ganzleben et al, 2017 ). Design and general characteristics of the HBM4EU aligned studies was described elsewhere ( Gilles et al, 2021 , 2022 ). Briefly, the HBM4EU aligned studies collected comparable exposure data, questionnaire data and data on health outcomes across the European studies.…”

Exposure to flame retardants in European children — Results from the HBM4EU aligned studies

“… COUNTRY (COUNTRY CODE) a STUDY TOTAL PARTICIPANTS FEMALE MALE AGE RANGE (YEARS) SAMPLING YEARS COMPOUNDS ANALYZED STUDY REFERENCE, WHERE AVAILABLE BELGIUM (BE) 3xG 133 67 66 7–8 2019–2020 BDCIPP, DPHP, BCIPP Govarts et al (2020) CZECH REPUBLIC (CZ) CELSPAC 195 106 89 11–12 2019 BCEP, BCIPP. BDCIPP, DPHP Not available GERMANY (DE) GerES V 300 150 150 6–12 2015–2016 BCEP, BCIPP, BDCIPP, DPHP European Commission (2021a) DENMARK (DK) OCC 291 130 161 7 2018–2019 BDCIPP, DPHP, BCIPP Kyhl et al (2015) GREECE (EL) CROME 55 31 24 6–11 2020–2021 PBDE-47, -153, −209, DP, HBCDD, DBDPE (EnvE Lab, 2022 ; Gilles et al, 2022 ) FRANCE (FR) ESTEBAN 413 191 222 …”

“…All participating studies in the HBM4EU survey adhered to national and European ethics regulations ( Gilles et al, 2021 ). The ethical information of all participating studies is provided in Table S2 ( Gilles et al, 2022 ). Three laboratories analyzed brominated FRs and DPs using gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS).…”

Glyphosate and AMPA in Human Urine of HBM4EU-Aligned Studies: Part B Adults

“…Data on Gly and AMPA in urine of adults were obtained in HBM4EU-aligned studies from Germany (UBA ESB; 2015–2020), Switzerland (Swiss TPH HBM4EU study; 2020), France (ESTEBAN; 2014–2016) and Iceland (DIET-HBM; 2019–2020). The study designs are described in Gilles et al (2021) [ 9 ] and characteristics of study participants and ethics can be found in Gilles et al (2022) [ 10 ]. The Swiss HBM4EU study, DIET-HBM and ESTEBAN are nationally representative campaigns.…”